Welcome to those who are reading our web page and have come across my entry on the Blog. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Eamon. I have been here at the Killarney Court Hotel for five years now. I started out as Duty Manager, then progressing to Assistant Manager and now Restaurant Manager. Some might say “are you mad?” to go into restaurant life full-time. Well it doesn’t pay to be mad in this business, but it sure helps. “Late nights, early mornings, working weekends and long hours, why not try for a 9-5 Monday to Friday job” they ask.

I think there is more of a chance of me doing the Riverdance with the Lockness Monster and the Yeti at Madison Square Gardens than that. No its the Hotel and Catering life for me.

Meeting new people everyday and seeing the new challenges and dramas, the tears and the gut busting laughter that each day brings. And with no two days ever the same it certainly isn’t boring. Sometime you could be led to  believe you are part of a real life soap drama. And our ratings must be high as we are open to you 12 months of the year, leaving us stand tall in this industry as other establishments’ close their doors for a few months at the end of each year. Well enough about me, let me take you on a days trip through the catering side of my day.

Another busy morning: Breakfast doors opening at 7am to the rush of another early morning tour group (one of four groups), who must have been told the famine is on its way to our shores again as no doubt I will be run over by the masses running for the buffet. But first here come the morning staff so I must do my check list on them:

Blood shot eyes            Clear.

Hangovers                    No

Alive                            Yes.

Right open the doors, let in the hungry and get the tea, coffee and toast flowing. The doors open  and the stampede commences and is ongoing for roughly around 1.5 hours as the tours need to get out early to start their day of sight-seeing, souvenir shopping and postcard writing to look forward to. As things calm down and the staff race to clear and reset we begin to greet our other patrons who are not travelling on coach and are more calm as they take a relaxing stroll over to the hot and cold buffets.

We can pride ourselves on the buffets we provide with a vast choice of items available on both cold and hot sections. This is not to be taken only on my word as one would say I am being favourable. No, this is the word of our guests who regularly compliment our breakfast.  So its 10.00am and as the last of the late night revellers enter the door for some food to bring up the energy levels which were worn out in town and having that “just one more” at the residents bar, its time to prepare for lunch.

(we’ve all done it!). Our carvery lunch which is available from 12 – 3pm, 7 days a week in our main bar, McGillycuddys consists of the finest roast for miles as well as a choice of other hot favourites for all to choose from. All meals accompanied by a selection of vegetables’ and potatoes and there is also a home made soup of the day available also. God my mouth is wetter than that of a child in Willy Wonkas Chocolate Factory writing this.. I might have to take a break and hit the carvery. No I will contain my hunger for now and continue. All this great food is served up to you by our “Queen of the Carvery, Eileen”. Not only is she serving you the finest lunch but she also has her salad bar for those health conscious among us. With a great lunch and a friendly face, what more could one ask for. So while you are at it, why not have a drink served up to you by our attentive bar staff to complete your lunch. Right: Lunch over no time to waste. Its time to check out the Restaurant for the nights business ahead. I’m sure I will grab something to eat soon. A great job for keeping the weight down, it must be said , surrounded by food all day. One would expect me to be on those weight loss/makeover programmes.

At night the Restaurant opens at 6pm, sit its time to check the menus with the Chef and if needs be, get them translated for any French, German or Spanish groups that may be on their way. So its out with the books. An idiots guide to foreign languages!.

Unfortunately  my knowledge of foreign languages would fit comfortably on the back of a stamp.. Hence the books.. Time to check that all tour tables are set and allocated and that all tables for those guests on a tour bus are ready. The restaurant offers an extensive choice on both our table de hote and A la carte menus and With a wine list to entertain even the most experienced of palates. On inspection of the dinner staff all accounted for and in good health after the morning shift, its time to open the doors and began the hectic night ahead. It ahs to be said a manager is only as good as the staff behind him and I guess I am “Donald Trump” because i have got a good bunch . They wont hear “you’re fired” from me! So off goes the night serving the masses who still haven’t been told that the famine is over and isn’t coming back to Ireland anytime soon. Surely someone fed them on their day trip somewhere. Maybe not. So once the restaurant is full and is in full swing. I have been known to speak French to Germans , Spanish to the French tours and German to the Americans. While all this is going on our main bar is in full swing with our popular Bar Food menu. But its all good. Behind all the smiles for the guests, threats of broken limbs in the kitchen, tears and bloodshed, WE LOVE IT.           That’s why five years on I’m still here. So as dinner ends the day is over. Its time to wash-up, relax and have a glass of wine. I ponder on the day gone and look forward to more adventures tomorrow so come see us soon and be part our family and our hectic but enjoyable lives at the Killarney Court Hotel.

Apple & Berry Crumble

Serves 6

6 Granny Smith Apples, peeled & cores removed

¼ cup Caster Sugar

2 cups Frozen Mixed Berries

60g Butter, chilled, cubed

¾ cup flaked Oats

½ cup Flour

½ cup Brown Sugar

½ cup Breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp of Honey

1 Tsp of Ground Cinnamon

Method:

• Preheat oven 180°C, grease 6 small ovenproof dishes / ramekins.
• Thinly slice apples & place into a saucepan over medium heat. Add caster Sugar, stir until the sugar dissolves. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes until the apples are tender.
• Stir in the Berries and spoon the mixture into the dishes.
• Rub the butter into the flour util the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, add in the oats, breadcrumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon & Honey and mix well.
• Spoon the crumble mixture over the fruit, bake for 30 minutes until crumble is golden.
• Served warm with Whipped Cream or Ice Cream.

Stuffed Breast of Chicken with Pudding over Caramelised Red Onion & Whiskey Mushroom Sauce

Serves 2

2 Chicken Breasts

100g of Black Pudding,

2 tsp Wholegrain Mustard

1 tsp Chopped Parsley

Quarter pint of Cream

2 red Onions

200mls of Port Wine

50g of Brown Sugar

Salt & pepper

6 Mushrooms

Half pint of Demi-Glace Sauce (Gravy)

100mls Whiskey

To Make the Stuffing

• Put into a mixer the black pudding, the mustard parsley and half of the cream, season with salt and pepper. Mix it together until it forms a paste.

To Stuff the Chicken

• Make an incision on the side of the breast of chicken to make it as a butterfly shape. Stuff with the black pudding stuffing and close it back together. Cook it in the oven for 20mins at 175°C.

To make the Caramelised Red Onion

• Cut the onions in half and slice it into thick slices. Place in a saucepan with the port wine and sugar. Sauté over a  low heat until caramelised

To Make the Whiskey & Mushroom Sauce

• Slice the mushrooms, Fry them with a bit of butter into a saucepan, deglaze with the whiskey and reduce the liquid to ¼ , then pour the Demi-glace into it and reduce to 3/4. Pour the rest of the cream and boil for 2 min.

To Serve

• Put the Caramelised Onion in the middle of the plate, place the Chicken on the top and surround with the Sauce.

A day in my life usually starts unceremoniously with the alarm screaming at me to get out of bed at 6.00am. After a shower and a 15 minute drive with the Rock Music blaring to get me motivated for the day, I arrive at the Killarney Court Hotel. When I cross the line and into the Hotel Foyer – it’s Showtime, this is where I become a leader, an advisor, a listener and a confidant,  all of this under the guise of Deputy Manager. Welcome to my world.

The first person I meet will be the Night Porter who will tell me about his night. We then have a few topical discussions including where Obama is going wrong in the election. I then make sure all the morning staff are present and double check that we have the heating & hot water on full throttle.

One of the most pleasant parts of the day then begins – Breakfast.

Everybody loves breakfast and ours is up there with the best. We have a choice of over 30 items for breakfast. This is where you can meet people at their most relaxed and go around to each table and enjoy listening to their experiences of Killarney & Kerry so far.

This is where you meet the witty Dub, The Lyrical Corkonian and the American! It is where you here of personal triumphs and tragedies, proud boasts & expert opinions.

During all of this I make sure that all of us as a team are happy and focussed, pushing and encouraging the team to interact with our guest and make sure that our warm Kerry hospitality shines through.

With Breakfast done, there are only two hours to lunch. This time is spent checking stock, doing orders, sorting tills, planning ahead for the evening, making sure that we are properly staffed, and getting in new business and dealing with any cancellations etc. There is also a lot of contact with the General Manager where we are constantly monitoring business, planning ahead, learning from mistakes, improving efficiency and above all constantly coming up with new ways of improving customer satisfaction.

Then lunch time arrives. We have a very busy Carvery Lunch, 7 days a week and most of the business comes from the local area. I meet a lot of our regular customers every day and we swap local gossip, have a bit of banter and an appreciation of their custom is re-enforced on a regular basis.

Three O’ Clock soon arrives and that’s my day done but I will have to tell you about the evening shift sometimes – that’s another story.

Writing this reminds me of some unusual characters that I have me, like the guest that arrived back from a night on the town at 6.45am and he couldn’t remember his room number. I asked him his name and he said it begins with a “T”, I then asked “How many clues do I have?”

or the gentleman who owns 14 Hotels in America but who had 11 teabags boiling in his Kettle to make tea and finally, the elderly gentleman from the North of Ireland who is a retired engineer and who built a house from volcanic ash (which does not absorb any water unlike the concrete blocks that we use which does absorb water)………….Interesting People, interesting job.

What sort of a day is it?

I am always reminded of a waiter I worked with some years ago at a lakeside hotel.

” Look at the mountains sir, if you can see them real close, it is a fine day”. ” And what if you can’t see them real close?” the guest asked. ” But sure then it is raining!” he replied with a grin. Indeed!

This memory, is like so many memories experienced everyday in the hotel business, a fond, happy, human memory. Because our work, mine & my colleagues, is all about the interaction we have with our guests.

The memory that most people have of a place they have been, is of the people they meet.

The Steak can be perfectly cooked, or the prawns to die for, but its the people whom they meet that their experience is dependent on.

We have been open for 10 years this year at the Killarney Court Hotel and we still have a lot of the team from the first year in 1998. The reason is because we emphasise people as being the important aspect in our working experience. Friendly, happy people, working as part of a team is vital if our guests are to have those fond memories of their stay with us.

Happy days!!

Derek Carroll, General Manager, Killarney Court Hotel